Duel at Diablo is a 1966 American Western film directed by Ralph Nelson starring James Garner and Sidney Poitier. It is based on Marvin H. Albert's 1957 novel Apache Rising.
Frontier scout Jess Remsberg rescues Ellen Grange from Apache attackers, only to become entangled with a cavalry supply mission led by Lt. Scotty McAllister through dangerous Apache territory. As the group is ambushed and driven toward disaster, Jess helps protect Ellen and her infant son, while also pursuing the truth behind the scalp of his murdered Comanche wife, which is tied to the violence and revenge fueling the conflict.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Title
- Army Scout: Jess Remseberg, although he is on a mission to avenge the death of his wife and has to be cajoled into making a detour to serve as an army scout.
- Attempted Rape: Jess saves Ellen from being raped by four men at the livery stable after she is caught trying to steal a horse.
- The Cavalry: Jess races to the canyon with army reinforcements just in time to save the last four survivors, including Toller and Ellen.
- *Click* Hello: When one of the would-be rapists is about to attack Jess with a pitchfork, he is stopped when Toller presses a pistol barrel against his neck and cocks the hammer.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Willard is captured by the Apaches and is tied upside down over hot coals in the same manner as McAllister's scout. His screams are meant to terrorize his besieged companions. Ellen is heartbroken to hear him suffering.
- Defiled Forever: Ellen Grange was a captive of the Apache for a year. After she escapes, her husband Willard and the other townsfolk shun her; believing that a decent white woman would have killed herself rather than live as an Apache squaw.
- Driven to Suicide: Jess finds Willard barely alive following his Cold-Blooded Torture at the hands of the Apache. He begs to be put out of his misery. Jess gives him his pistol, and Willard kills himself.
- From Dress to Dressing: Toller tears up his shirt and uses it to make a sling for Scotty's injured arm. Later, Toller is shot in the arm with an arrow and rips the sleeve off and uses it as a bandage.
- Gardening-Variety Weapon: During the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown at the livery stable, one of the would-be rapists picks up a pitchfork and is about to spear Jess with it, but it is stopped by a *Click* Hello from Toller.
- Human Shield: Jess and Ellen get past the Apache siege by holding her baby aloft, knowing Chata will not risk harming his grandson.
- It's All About Me: After his wife Ellen is raped by an Apache man, Willard tells her she should have killed herself because being married to an "Indian squaw" is embarrass. She calls him out for it.Ellen: You only care about yourself and what people think of you!
Willard: I do business with them people! - Know When to Fold 'Em: When The Cavalry arrives, Chata finds himself cornered by a squad of troopers. He grasps his rifle and, for a moment, it looks like he is planning to go out in a blaze of glory. Instead, he extends the rifle to the troopers and surrenders.
- Leave Behind a Pistol: As the survivors are preparing for their last stand against the Apaches, Willard gives Ellen a pistol with two cartridges—one for the baby and one for her—should that Apache break through their lines.
- Logo Joke: The United Artists logo appears and it is then cut apart by a knife blade from within the screen .
- Man Bites Man: During the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown following Jess thwarting the Attempted Rape of Ellen, one of the rapists jams his hand in Jess's mouth, only for Jess to bite him.
- Mercy Kill: Jess finds Willard barely alive following his Cold-Blooded Torture at the hands of the Apache. He begs to be put out of his misery. Jess gives him his pistol, and Willard kills himself.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Jess stops the Attempted Rape of Ellen at the livery stable. This quickly turns into a brutal brawl between Jess and the four attackers.
- Pistol-Whipping: After performing a *Click* Hello on one of the would-be rapists at the livery stable, Toller knocks him out with his pistol. Later, Willard Grace uses his pistol to smack down an Apache who is trying to climb on board his wagon.
- Powder Trail: Toller lays a powder trail from the ammunition wagon. During the Apache attack, he ignites it with a pistol shot and blows up the wagon.
- The Savage Indian: Zigzagged. The Apaches are ruthless and have no issue with using Cold-Blooded Torture as a psychological weapon. At the same time, Jess points out that the Apache do not do these things without reason, and that Chata has been driven to these ends. He also comments that the person who scalped his wife was a white man, not an Indian.
- Shoot the Dog: After his horse collapses while crossing the Thirsty Desert, Jess draws his pistol and is about to shoot it, before he realises that a shot will give away his position to his pursuers. With obvious reluctance, he holsters his pistol and draws his knife and slits the horse's throat.
- Thirsty Desert: McAllister sends Jess to Fort Concho to fetch The Cavalry. Part way across the desert, Jess discovers a bullet hole in his canteen, and all of his water has leaked out. Jess continues on until his horse collapses from thirst, and he is forced to put it down. Jess is able to escape by ambushing his pursuers and stealing their horses and water and continue in to Fort Concho.
- Unwilling Suspension: Willard is captured by the Apaches and is tied upside down over hot coals in the same manner as McAllister's scout.
- Weapon Tombstone: The graves of the fallen cavalry troopers are marked with their sabres. The final shot is of Toller paying his respects to Lieutenant McAllister's grave before mounting up and riding off.